Rokudaime's Regrets
by BellaBruja
Summary: Orochimaru seems to be a problem for the Leaf, yet again, and Kakashi is left to make the major decisions. Can he make the right choices, for the sake of the village? KakaSaku woven in. :) Updated!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Welcome to my first story line! Writing fanfiction has been on my mind for a while, so I decided to go for it. This story literally fell out of my brain in two days. Can't wait to hear feed back on the first chapter! *I obviously do not own Naruto.***

 **The Return**

"Damnit, Naruto! Stop pulling your punches!"

"Sorry Sakura! It's a habit." he said sheepishly.

"You're not even using ninjutsu! I need you to take this seriously, Naruto. I have to pass the Jonin exam." Sakura stood up from her fighting stance, sighing and rubbing the sweat from her forehead. Meanwhile, Naruto collapsed onto his back in a fit.

"I can't believe I still have to study while you're becoming a Jonin!" Sakura sat down next to Naruto, trying not to smile.

"Naruto. You know Kakashi made this more of a technicality so that you aren't completely lost sitting at that desk in a decade," Sakura rolled her eyes and got up from the ground when Naruto began to pout. "Seriously Naruto, stop whining." Sakura looked over training ground three as memories she'd been trying to bury attacked her. "Speaking of Kakashi, let's head to the Hokage Tower. This is Tsunade's last day in Konoha for a while." Sakura momentarily frowned as she considered her mentor, who handed the reigns to Kakashi the moment they stepped foot on Konoha soil after the war.

"Ah, that's right Granny Tsunade's leaving again! I wonder where she's going?" Naruto looked up with his hand on his chin, thinking of the possibilities.

"Don't think too hard." Sakura said dryly, as she began to put chakra in her feet to get a move on. As she and Naruto began to cover ground, she thought back to their missing teammate. Sauske was out of the village and would be indefinitely. After Tsunade practically strapped him to a hospital bed and used her grandfathers' cells to fit him a like new arm at Kakashi's request, he left with minimal disruption, with her and Kakashi standing at the gates, and he and Naruto sharing private words that Naruto wouldn't share with her to this day. That was four years ago.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto asked as they reached the doors of the tower. "Let's get ramen today, we've earned it!" Sakura turned and looked at Naruto who had his normal goofy grin on, thinking about all the growing he'd done over the past four years, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Iruka nor Kakashi were taking it easy on him. At all.

"Naruto, don't you have something to ask Hinata tonight at dinner?"

"Um… no?" He answered as the smile left his face gradually. Sakura heaved a sigh, while practically tearing the door off the hinges, startling Genma who was on the other side of said door.

"Idiot!" She growled as the stomped up to the Hokage's office.

"Sakura, wait! I need you to remind me!" Naruto said has he quickly caught up with her. Sakura didn't stop and marched right into Kakashi's office. Tsunade and Kakashi looked up curiously from the scroll they were finishing up wondering what Shizune or Shikamaru wanted to complain about now, but they both were pleasantly surprised to see their students.

"Sakura, Naruto! What a pleasant surprise." Kakashi said with his typical smile.

"What brings you both up here?" Tsunade asked, standing from her chair beside Kakashi's and placing her hands on her hips. Sakura glanced over Tsunade and Kakashi's desk, noting the S rank scroll they were working on.

"Well, I was coming to see you and ask about dinner tonight, but it looks like there's been a change of plans?" Sakura stated it like a question she already knew the answer to.

"As usual, you put confidence into my decision to take you on all those years ago," Tsunade said, smiling at the pink-haired girl. Meanwhile, Naruto seemed slightly confused.

"Granny, what's going on?" Kakashi looked at Tsunade, asking her if they should wait or go ahead and confirm. Tsunade answered his question with a slight nod, and Kakashi asked the guard to close the door. Sakura and Naruto glanced back at the movement, and dread now had their stomachs turning. The pair turned, serious looks on their faces. "Granny Tsunade. Is this about Sauske?" Naruto asked, walking towards her. Tsunade sighed and picked up the scroll, wishing it were that simple.

"No, Naruto. This is about the Snake Sannin, unfortunately."

"Orochimaru? I thought Captain Yamato was monitoring his movements?" Sakura asked as her eyes widened, stepping forward to stand next to Naruto.

"He is," Kakashi confirmed, while taking the scroll from Tsunade to close and seal. "And I don't like what he's seeing. Not only is he beginning to experiment on living beings again, he's made himself look 20 years younger. He's also been sneaking past Tenzou's perimeter at night. Honestly, we should have taken care of this years ago." Kakashi sat back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk, twirling the now sealed mission scroll between his fingers. It wasn't as big as it would have been had they been preparing to send ANBU to take care of him. "Team Kakashi will be heading out to the Sound to investigate what the hell he's up to."

"Team Kakashi?" Sakura asked. "Most of team Kakashi is out of the village!" Sai was currently on a recon mission, and Sauske is… well, where in the hell is Sauske, Sakura wondered.

"He's on his way back to the village." Kakashi said, answering the unasked question on Naruto and Sakura's faces. "Sai got back from his mission this morning. This takes precedence. Kiba met and replaced him last night."

"Sauske is on his way back?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"I literally just said that. But Naruto- don't get too excited. Sauske has already decided to leave from the Sound and go back to his mission after we're done. He is not coming back to the village when we're done." Naruto nodded his head seriously at Kakashi, understanding what his team leader and Hokage was telling him.

"Sakura." Her head snapped up at her name being said.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade?" She answered. "This mission is important. Orochimaru is not someone you can be distracted from. Your head needs to be in this, or Shizune will be sent in your place." Tsunade said sternly. Sakura felt her cheeks grow warm at her mentor's warning.

"Yes, ma'am." She said, chastened.

"Who's team leader? Captain Yamato? Is he still in the Sound Village?" Naruto asked, while mentally packing and trying to remember what the hell he had to ask Hinata.

"That would be me." Kakashi said, standing up from his desk and walking around to his team. "No one else outside of the six of us have really had to deal with him, except for the Fifth Hokage, of course. Lady Tsunade will take up the mantle again while we're out of the village. Tenzou cannot leave his post, or Orochimaru will become suspicious, and probably go on the run again." Sakura glanced at Kakashi, wondering what he wasn't telling them. If he was leaving the village to basically become a Jonin again, this had to be so much worse than he was letting on. He also had on his Hokage-fied Jonin uniform, which meant they were leaving soon. "We leave at 10 tonight. You'll need to postpone your proposal dinner, Naruto. I'm sorry." Kakashi said, looking at the younger ninja.

"Proposal dinner? Damnit! That was what I need to ask her!" Naruto exclaimed while running top speed out of the office.

"Watch where you're going, Loser." Sauske said, as he pushed Naruto out of the way to keep them from colliding on the threshold of the office.

"Bastard! You're back! Can't stop and talk, gotta go! See you at 10!" Naruto said as he began to run at top speed again. Sauske glanced towards where Naruto had been standing. He then stepped forward and closed the door again.

"Why in the hell was he in such a rush?" Looking over the occupants of the room.

"He was supposed to propose to Hinata tonight but since we're leaving, some arrangements need to be changed." Kakashi replied as he glanced over the former-rouge ninja. Sauske scoffed as he saw the three of them examining him. He was preparing to say something scathing but changed his mind. It had been a while.

"Sakura. Tsunade." He said instead.

"Brat," Tsunade replied. "How's the arm treating you?"

"No noted problems," He responded, then glanced to Sakura again, expecting to see that less annoying glazed over look she always gave him. He was taken slightly off guard to see her walking past him without another glance in his direction.

"See you guys at 10." She said quietly as the left the room.

"What's her problem?" Sauske asked, with a slightly curious tone. He wasn't used to her completely ignoring him.

"What? You thought she'd continue to worship the ground you walked on after you left the last time?" Tsunade scoffed and began walking to the door as well. "Unlike you, Brat, the Konoha Eleven have matured. Well… Naruto's doing his best to keep up. Kakashi, I'll see you when you return." Tsunade looked at Kakashi over her shoulder. "This is the last mess of ours you'll have to clean up." Tsunade exited the office, with Shizune coming out of nowhere to follow her out of the building.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back! Two chapters this week (school is about to start so don't get used to it lol) because I wanted to get the ball rolling. I believe this one is double the word count. Enjoy and I look forward to your reviews!**

 **P.S. Some of this isn't cannon. I didn't want to leave Neji dead, but that's for another time.**

 **The Reveal**

"I'm going to Naruto's. I'll meet you all at the gates at 10." Sauske said lazily as he turned to exit Kakashi's office.

"Sauske." Kakashi said quietly, causing the man mentioned to stop, but not turn around. "Don't fuck with Sakura's head during this mission. You of all people know what kind of attention Orochimaru needs."

"Kakashi. When have I have _ever_ intentionally interacted with Sakura, directly or indirectly? It seems that she's moved on from her little crush. Good for her." Sauske walked out of the door with that parting statement. When the door closed, Kakashi sighed wearily, knowing this was going to be a long mission. It had been a while for him. All he had time to do was sit on his ass and sign paperwork. He stretched, tied up some loose ends, and then teleported out of his office to the Hokage's residence. He wasn't at all surprised to see he had a visitor.

"Giving him the cold shoulder was a little childish, don't you think?" Kakashi asked the pink haired blob in pajamas on his couch. Sakura sat up and looked up at Kakashi as he approached her. He'd taken off the vest and his overshirt on his walk over, leaving the undershirt with the mask attached on. He leaned over the couch forcing her to sit back a little. He took down his mask meeting her halfway for a quick kiss.

"It wasn't the cold shoulder. I simply had other things on my mind. Mainly the fact that we haven't told anyone about our… thing. Now Team Kakashi is reuniting for the worst reason ever, and we have to go on this mission pretending that we aren't more than teammates. I'm annoyed." Sakura sat back from him completely in a huff, going back to the now semi-room temperature dango she'd been eating. Kakashi moved to lean on the back of the sofa.

"Sakura. Telling them before this mission isn't an option, nor is letting them find out during it."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a fucking kid, Kakashi. I know that." Kakashi stood up, stripping out of the rest of his clothes as he walked toward the bathroom to take a quick shower before packing.

"Shouldn't you be at home packing instead of lounging in pajamas on my couch?" He asked her over his shoulder without stopping. Sakura got up to follow him into his room while stripping herself.

"I figured you could pack then we could teleport to my place so I can grab my pack. This is the last bit of time we have before we have to act like we haven't been together for the past six months."

Sakura finished undressing and stepped into the shower after him. She blushed slightly as she looked from his body to his face. Kakashi was a beautiful sight, and even being slightly mad at him wouldn't stop her from noticing that body. Kakashi turned toward her as she got in behind him. They hadn't slept together, but Sakura had started birth control after their first real date. As a result, Sakura was no longer the stick she complained about being (even though it was clear that Sakura was a petite hourglass.) She was still muscular, even more so due to the weight gain, but now she was as top heavy as Ino, and her ass was even more prominent. She'd even started wearing pants instead of shorts because men were drooling after her in the village and outside of it. The breasts he could take or leave. The thighs, hips, and ass were his speed. The shapeliness of those body parts spoke to the strength a woman's body had. And as most of the men in the village had found out in the past six months, she had plenty of it.

"It's not the end of the world, Sakura. This is what we do. The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can get back."

"Yeah, Yeah. Pass me my body wash and loofah, please. Also, why did you call Sauske back to the village? Why couldn't he have met us in the Sound? Better yet, why include him _at all_ ," She muttered, holding out her hand for the items she'd asked for. She wasn't even slightly placated by what Kakashi seemed to call reassurance. Kakashi sided eyed his girlfriend silently answering her stupid question. She saw the look then rolled her eyes and began to lather. They both washed and left the shower. Kakashi finished first. Sakura had begun to grow her hair out again so she was delayed about twenty minutes. Who knows when she'd be able to deep condition again? Kakashi was dressed and had begun packing by the time she made it out of the bathroom.

"Why weren't you wearing your robes today?"

"I don't wear them _every day_ , Sakura." He responded dryly while stuffing some rations into his back. Sakura stared at him crossly as she threw on another outfit from the stash she had in his closet. In the normal world, they'd be moving way too fast yet too slow since they had no problems showering together. It almost never turned into a sensual/sexual thing, because if they were showing together it was usually because they both were too exhausted to wait for the other to finish. Since they were ninja and had known each other for years the rules didn't really apply here, either.

"I know you don't wear them every day, smartass. The Kazekage is in town right now. You typically greet in formal robes."

"Gaara is here to see how Temari is doing in Konoha, and to spend time with Naruto. No robes necessary. I'm starting to think you have a thing for that particular uniform." Kakashi laughed as he ducked a pillow turned missile. Sakura landed on the bed next to his pack with his signed copy of Icha Violence, an extra uniform, and sandals. He raised an eyebrow, watching her place them in the bag correctly.

"Stop looking at me like that, Kakashi. I know how you like your pack. We've snuck into it enough over the years." It was Sakura's turn to laugh as Kakashi realized what that meant.

"You're all set! Let's head out then go meet Hinata and Naruto for dinner before we leave."

"Why are we meeting anyone for dinner? Why can't you cook at your place?"

"I am _not_ your personal servant, Kakashi."

"I didn't say you were. I just assumed we weren't leaving your apartment. Didn't you just say this was our time since we won't have any for a while?"

"Yeah, well as I left-"

"Stomped."

" _Left_ the tower after the meeting I ran into Hinata, who of course had already been seen by Naruto. He told her to invite the Konoha Eleven and teachers; well those in town to Barbeque. I told her I'd pass the message along to you and if I was coming, she'd see my face." Sakura shrugged as she walked back toward the door with Kakashi to put on her sandals. Once they put their sandals on, they stood and Kakashi grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together to get ready to transport them both. They appeared in Sakura's living room and she let his hand go to go and grab her already finished pack. She walked back over to where Kakashi was standing with his hands in his pockets, watching her. She'd noticed that since they'd made it official, he watched her a lot. It wasn't always sexual, though. It was like he just wanted to make sure she was alright.

She smiled as she stood a few inches in front of him, thinking of the nostalgia of Team Kakashi going out again… then the smile faded as she realized that Kakashi was going on a mission, and not as Hokage. "Kakashi… why are you going on this mission? It's already extremely dangerous. If word gets out that you're doing missions instead of sitting behind that desk…" Kakashi took one hand out of his pocket and ran it along her cheek, then slid it down to run it over her bottom lip. Sakura shivered, and Kakashi smiled. He slowly put his hand back in his pocket and answered her question.

"Orochimaru has a Rinnegan." There was a lengthy pause before Sakura lost her shit.

" _What did you just say_?! How in the hell did that bastard get a Rinnegan?"

"It's Madara's. He stole it off his corpse while the Sage of Six Paths released the spirits. We were all kind of caught up making sure Naruto was okay after he lost Minato. Oh, and making sure that Sauske wouldn't do anything that would make me have to kill him." Sakura shivered for a non-sexual reason as she thought about that genjutsu. She'd never forgive him for that nightmare even though he did give that weak apology while he and Naruto were losing blood.

"Why didn't you mention it to Sauske or Naruto?"

"They know now. That information is in the mission scroll."

"Hey! I didn't get a mission scroll!" Before she could finish that sentence once appeared in front of her.

"I figured I'd see you well before we had to leave."

" _You did this on purpose!_ Now we can't go out because I have to read this damn thing!"

"How was I supposed to know you'd made plans? And since I'm the one that wrote the scroll, it's just _you_ that can't go out."

" _Kakashi._ " Sakura looked up at him with serious contempt, enough to make him take a giant step back.

"Honestly, it won't take that long. Most of this is redundant to you."

"Great! Make some tea while I read." Kakashi crossed the room to the stove, put some water in the kettle and started it up as Sakura sat at the kitchen table to read. Thirty minutes later, Sakura was scanning the new information for the third time. "I cannot believe this..." She whispered and looked up at her team leader, who was finishing her tea off. Kakashi turned the scroll to ash after confirming that she was done reading it, then got up to throw out the ashes and rinse the tea cups.

"Unfortunately, you didn't have the clearance to know most of this information. Outside of Tenzou and Tsunade, I'm the only one who knew."

"A Rinnegan… possible Sharingans… Hashirama's cells… and a plan to take Neji's body from his grave? But Orochimaru had to know that Neji had a Caged Bird Seal… that makes no sense…" Kakashi shrugged as he returned to the table and to sit.

"Knowing Orochimaru, that was just a small obstacle. But there's also no guarantee that he knew Neji was a part of the branch house."

"He _had_ to know, Kakashi. He was posing as the Kazekage _during_ _the Chunin Exams_!"

"Valid point. Now we know that the seal doesn't matter to him."

"Neji was one of us, Kakashi, how can you sound so fucking detached talking about him!" Sakura's hand slammed down on her table. It whined at the sudden attack. Sakura was struggling to hold back her emotions. Neji was a sensitive topic for all of them. He was the only one of the Konoha Eleven not there. None of them were the same after losing him and they never would be. That train of thought brought her back to Sauske. Neji was gone, but Sauske was here. Being the asshole you'd _expect_ him to be, even though his team had given him more chances than he'd _ever_ deserved. Sometimes that hurt Sakura and she locked herself in her house for days. Sometimes, like today, it pissed her off. Even after she and Kakashi got together. It wasn't that she still had romantic feelings for him. Those died when he walked away from her _again_ at the gates four years ago. Sauske was theirs and he _still_ didn't fucking get it.

"Sauske still doesn't get it, Sakura. Maybe he never will. He understands that we love him, but it still doesn't translate. He's still embarrassed and angry that he couldn't figure out what Itachi was really doing and save him. He feels like he doesn't deserve us." Kakashi said quietly after sensing what, or rather _whom_ Sakura had transferred her anger about Orochimaru to. Sakura looked up at the window that had closed blinds. She knew that, but she was tired of Sauske and his excuses not to give a shit about them.

Sakura compartmentalized those emotions, then looked up at Kakashi with a smile. "Ready to go get Barbeque?" Kakashi stared at her, watching her turn into that kid who hid her feelings about the boy she loved.

"Don't do that, Sakura. It's not healthy, and we can't afford to fuck up this mission." Sakura was shocked that he'd call her out and just stared at him. Kakashi then held out his hand and waited. After a few minutes Sakura grabbed it and sat facing him in his lap. He let her hand go and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome Back! This is a short chapter. I like the way it ended, so I've uploaded two chapters today. Please review, guys. I'd love to hear thoughts on the story so far!**

 **-BB**

 **The Dinner**

"Forehead! Thank goodness you showed up! Hey, Kakashi!"

"Ino," Kakashi replied, and nodded at the loud girl.

"Pig! Get off me! You weigh a ton!" Ino gasped as she let go of Sakura and glared at her. Then Ino just smiled.

"You weigh at least ten pounds more than I do." Ino threw at Sakura.

" _Pig!_ Do you want to _die_ in this restaurant?" Sakura ground out as Kakashi grabbed her arm to keep her from causing a scene.

"Not about you tonight, remember?" Kakashi whispered to her. Ino looked at them curiously. Sakura mentally told Kakashi to let her go. He did.

"Where's everyone else, Pig?"

"Oh, you're the last to arrive! We're in the room at the back." Ino lead the way into a large room filled with their friends. Naruto sat next to Hinata, with his arm slung around her shoulder. Around the table was Sai, Choji and Karui (none of the girls in the group liked that bitch after the way she treated Naruto, but they coped because Choji was happy), Shikamaru and Temari, Gaara and Kankuro, Lee and Guy, Tenten and Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, Kurenai, Tsunade, and Shizune, and then finally Shino and _surprisingly_ Sauske. Ino dragged Sakura to sit between her and Hinata as Kakashi moved to sit between Naruto and Sauske. As they sat down, Ino whispered to Sakura. "What's up with you and Kakashi?"

Sakura slowly turned to look at her best friend and responded, "We had an argument before we came in, why?"

"What about?"

"It's classified, unfortunately, otherwise I'd tell you."

"Oh, come on Sakura!"

"Pig! You know I can't say! Kakashi _and_ Gaara are in the room!"

"Fine!" Ino sat down and began to pout. Slowly, Sai began to pull her out of her mood. Sakura looked around room and became a little salty. Her boyfriend was two people down and would _not_ be pulling her out of her funk anytime soon.

"Hey, Naruto! What's the point of this troublesome dinner?" Shikamaru asked, then winced as Temari hit him upside the head.

"Don't be an ass, Shikamaru." Temari closed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. It was very Gaara-esque. Although Temari is older, so maybe Gaara got it from her.

"How do you manage to hit me in the same spot _every time_? Troublesome woman…"

"I'm a kunoichi. Surely you aren't surprised. I also have an idiot for a brother." Gaara and Kankuro turned to her. Temari felt them look her way and she opened her eyes. Laughing, she said "It's implied to be you, Kankuro." Gaara smirked and Kankuro rolled his eyes.

As the table laughed at the sibling's antics, Naruto smiled and said "Hinata and I are getting married!" The entire table went silent… the erupted in cheer. Hinata quietly let go of the breath she was holding, and Sakura noticed.

Sakura leaned over to her and said, " _Surely_ you didn't think we'd be anything other than happy for you two. Congratulations!" Sakura pushed Naruto's arm off her shoulder and hugged her. Naruto pouted at Sakura, who then rolled her eyes. When she looked back, she saw Kakashi staring at her intensely. She blushed and let Hinata go.

"Thank you, Sakura. Who knows if we'd be here without your help."

"You would be. Trust me. Naruto is an idiot-"

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to pout even more. Sakura rolled her eyes again.

"But he's not stupid." Hinata laughed, and looked up at him, causing him to smile and put his arm back around her. When Sakura sat back in her seat, Ino leaned over and whispered to her.

"Yeah, it was more than a _fight_ , Forehead. When you get back from that mission, I want _details_." Sakura did her best to pretend she heard nothing her Pig said.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Rendezvous**

"I really held out hope that he'd drop this habit once he became Hokage." Sai said tonelessly.

"We all walked out of the restaurant at the _same time_! How in the hell did he get away?" Naruto asked irritably.

"This is Kakashi we're talking about." Sauske said dryly, leaning on the outpost, arms and legs crossed, eyes closed. Sakura knew exactly where Kakashi was but wouldn't be mentioning it to her teammates. This was his first mission since the war ended. Now that Obito really was dead, there was no other place for him to be right now. Sakura exhaled then sat on the bench and stared at the sky. This was already weighing heavily on her. Orochimaru predictably causing problems years later was draining her. Why did they continually give chances to people who _did not_ deserve them?

"Yo!" Kakashi said, leaning in Sakura's line of sight. Sakura rolled her eyes and moved from underneath his large head. Naruto was filling his lungs with enough oxygen to scold his teacher when Sakura silently stood and said "let's go" by walking out of the gates. Four slightly confused men followed her lead. At full speed, they reached Captain Yamato's hideout near Orochimaru's in about seven hours. A clone greeted them and let them in, sharing that he and the real Yamato would be trading places soon. The goal was to make it before day break. Since Kakashi ended up being an hour and a half late, at full speed they made well after the sun had risen. They all collapsed inside the house.

Seeing how exhausted they were, the clone informed them that the real Yamato would take first watch. Kakashi allowed this, planning to take over first watch after a quick nap. Their late arrival was his fault, after all. He also needed to think about what was going on with Sakura. The closer they got to the hideout, the more tense she became. She knew where he was, so it couldn't have been because he was late. So that only left one option: Sauske. She had asked him why he involved Sauske in the mission, and the answer was clear as day; he knew the most about Orochimaru _and_ had already killed him. They all glanced over at Sakura as she dropped her pack unceremoniously on the floor, unrolled the sleeping bag she'd been using for missions since day one, then immediately fell asleep. Naruto, Sai, and Sauske slowly followed her lead. Kakashi was the last one out. Tenzou woke him 6 hours later.

"Sorry, Tenzou. I meant to wake up and take over first shift. It was my fault we had to go so hard." Kakashi knew something was up when he didn't correct the name he called him by. He simply nodded towards the front of the room, trying not to wake the others. When they reached the isolated area, Tenzou turned toward him.

"Are you and Sakura sleeping together?"

"Why would you ask me that, Tenzou?" Kakashi asked seriously.

"When I came back into the room to wake you for second shift, she was up, watching you sleep. She was also crying." Fuck, Kakashi thought. It was him.

"Sakura and I are not sleeping together, Yamato."

"Then what is going on? I've only ever seen her that upset over one guy, and he was on the other side of the room."

Kakashi sighed, then asked, "Where is she?"

"She's sweeping. She'll be back 'round in a moment."

"Get some rest, Tenzou. I'll handle this."

"Yes, Captain." The younger man went into the room with the rest of their teammates. He met Sakura as she was coming towards the door. She had been crying. She quickly pressed chakra to her eyes to remove the visible parts of her blackened mood.

"What's going on, Sakura?" She went to walk past him, but he grabbed her hand to stop her. She immediately teared up, and Kakashi looked at her in dismay. She gently took her hand from his and mouthed "later" and walked to one of the empty rooms. Kakashi continued outside to begin his shift.

Sakura sat in the corner quietly as she considered what was going on in her head. She was so angry, but for what reason? Because Orochimaru was exactly who he'd always been? Because Sauske was still an ass? Or was this about Kakashi? About the secrecy, the lying to their friends when they wanted to spend time alone rather than in group settings where they couldn't kiss or touch. Neither of them believed in public displays of affection, but she wanted the option, damnit! She was tired of hiding and couldn't figure out why. Then, it hit her. _Neji._ This was about Neji, and a conversation she'd had with him shortly before the war started.

"Sakura."

Sakura looked up from the chart she was completing. "Neji! What brings you to the hospital? You're not injured, are you?"

"No… I was wondering if we could talk?" Sakura tilted her head curiously at him but nodded and signaled for him to follow her to an empty examination room. It was a slow day, thankfully. She closed the door after him.

"What's going on, Neji?"

"I'm in love with Tenten."

Sakura had to catch the file she had in her hand. "I'm sorry, you're what?" Neji sighed, then ran a hand through that envy inducing hair of his.

"I'm in love with her, Sakura. I always have been. We are about to go to war, and I want to tell her, but I cannot bring myself to do so."

"Why not?"

"Because even if she returns those feelings, nothing can happen between us. Lady Hinata and Lady Hinabi are determined to change the Hyuga Clan, and Lord Hiashi is on board. That means if the Hokage agrees, I am next in line to become head of clan."

And suddenly, Sakura understood. "Which means… you'll end up with another Hyuga. Neji…" Sakura reached out and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If you become head of household, you can change that." But as she said that, he shook his head.

"The Elders and the Hokage may agree to end the separation of the Hyuga, but some rules will remain. If I am made head of house, I will wed and breed with another Hyuga. Tenten knows nothing of her family's background. They would never approve of us with the strength of my abilities."

Sakura's love for Sauske seemed so childish in the moment, she flinched. She was desperately in love with someone who wanted to forget she even existed. A boy who'd tried to kill her. Multiple times. "Neji. Tell her." Sakura begged. She knew Tenten. They were friends and had become closer as wartime drew near. She knew how the weapons mistress felt about the beautiful boy. Neji looked confused at Sakura's plea.

"Why? It will not go anywhere, Sakura." Sakura placed her file on the cabinet, so she wouldn't rip it to shreds. With her hands balled in her skirt and her head down she responded openly and emotionally.

"Neji. Tenten is… well, Tenten. She understands you, because you two suffer through Guy and Lee's antics together. We have been through _so much shit_ in the past five years. We didn't have childhoods. We've been on death's doorstep since the age of 12. Now an asshole with multiple tailed beasts wants to end it all." Sakura looked up at him with tears streaming down her face and smiled. "Even if it's for a little while, be together. It will be worth it, I promise." Neji looked up at Sakura, understanding why she was telling him this.

"What if she does not… return these feelings?" Sakura laughed at that while wiping her eyes.

"Neji, you're the most intelligent one in our damn group. Do you really expect me to believe you haven't picked up that Tenten's been in love with you for years?" Sakura almost keeled over and died when she noticed Neji blushing. She started laughing again, then pushed him out of the door saying "Go Neji. Jeez." Sakura flashed back to the present when she felt Kakashi enter the room. She looked up at his solemn face and smiled. "I can't do this anymore."

 **Whew! That was a hard one for me. I really despise that Neji died, and I'll correct that in another story line. Let me know what you think!**

 **-BB**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome back! This is the last weekly upload for a while, and it's a little early. As I've mentioned previously, school is about to get back underway, and I won't be able to post every week. I did want to get five chapters out before then, so here she is! As always, let me know what you think! Normal reminder: I do not own Naruto.**

 **-BB**

 **Deception**

"Damnit," Sauske said when they reached Captain Yamato's post for Orochimaru's hideout. "Sauske, what do you know?" Kakashi asked.

"He's not here." Silence followed his statement.

" _What the hell do you mean he's not here, you bastard!?"_ Naruto asked.

"I mean, _Loser_ , that Orochimaru has _already_ left this hideout."

"That's not possible." Yamato said, shaking his head. "He's been on 24-hour surveillance for _4 years_." Sauske scoffed.

"It seems that you need to reevaluate your specialty, wood style. Surveillance is not it."

"Sauske." Sakura said scolding the insult towards their sometimes captain. "Save your shit talk for the original members of Team Kakashi, not our additions. They don't deserve it." All five men looked at her in shock. She looked away from Sauske and focused on her blond-haired best friend. "Naruto. Can you use Sage Mode to check Sauske's suspicion?"

"Uh… yeah. Hold on." Naruto slowly looked away from Sakura just in case _she_ turned out to be Orochimaru. Then he began to gather nature energy. He looked towards the building and focused on the chakra signatures inside. His eyes widened in horror.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Kakashi demanded.

"They're… all dead. There are no living beings inside the hideout. He reanimated puppets to keep Captain Yamato busy. Orochimaru has been gone for a year, at least. The building is over grown on the inside. Traps are set everywhere." As Naruto's eyes returned to normal, he looked at Captain Yamato. "If you have detonations set up for destroying this building… we need to use them before we leave. Nobody needs to know what was in there. It's his usual gig... but only we need to know that."

"Why don't we go check it out?" Sai asked intending to move towards the building. Kakashi stopped him.

"Naruto are you saying nothing can get in or out of that building safely?" Kakashi asked plainly. "That's _exactly_ what I'm saying."

"Damnit! How did he get past this team?"

"Tenzou. This was bound to happen. This is Orochimaru we're talking about." Kakashi sighed and ran his hand through his white mop. "I should have followed my first mind and executed him four years ago. I left him alive at the request of Naruto and Lady Tsunade. It's not the first or last mistake I'll make." Kakashi said dryly. "Alright. Tenzou, pack up and make that house disappear. Let the rest of your team know that they can head back to The Leaf."

"Yes sir. Where are we heading?"

"Back to the village, as well. I'm getting Tsunade to send a team of Hunter Ninjas after him. We'll go from there." Kakashi wrote a note, then summoned Pakkun who would beat them there easily. They wouldn't be taking the breakneck pace they did to The Sound Village.

"Yo." Pakkun said easily, glancing at Kakashi, then the others surrounding him. "What in the hell are you doing on a mission, Kakashi?"

"I don't have time to explain. Get this to Tsunade quickly. Let her know we'll be back in the village late tomorrow."

"Understood. Catch ya later." Pakkun disappeared in his usual puff of smoke. Kakashi stood and faced Tenzou, hands in his pockets.

"How far away can you detonate?"

"I can do it from the village, if need be. I placed surveillance seeds all over the building."

"Good. We're leaving after Yamato has finished up here."

"Actually, I think I'll head back out on my own." Sauske said as he walked off.

"No, you won't. You'll be heading back to the village as well." Sauske turned back to Kakashi and rolled his eyes.

"For what? Think he's after me again? That I need protection from _Orochimaru?_ " Sauske said the man's name sarcastically.

"Yes, actually. I wouldn't put it past him. He has a Rinnegan, Sauske." Sauske scoffed and turned completely around to Kakashi.

"Even if he did steal that eye, there's no way it's been implanted in his body. It's a bloodline limit, Kakashi. You were an "exception" to the rule, if you recall. No one else has ever been successful with the Sharingan or evolved versions of it outside of you. Orochimaru _does not_ have the chakra to use one successfully."

"He also has Hashirama's cells."

" _So what?_ His vessel is a white zetsu, which means he's had them for a _while._ Ever figure out if you were a descendant of Senju, Kakashi? Or of even the Uchiha's? With hair like the Second's, I'd venture to say Senju. _That_ is why you were able to tolerate and use the Sharingan, Kakashi. Not a stroke of luck. Orochimaru doesn't have that. He was able to trace his bloodline."

"Unless you want to die right here you're going back to The Leaf, Sauske. You don't get a choice. I've given you enough of those to last a lifetime." Kakashi said, his voice deadly as it had dared to be since the war. Sauske stepped toward Kakashi, and dare in his eyes, but Naruto stepped in between them, facing Sauske.

"Don't do this, you bastard. I cannot and will not chase after you again. Kakashi has decided. Let it go." Sauske looked at his brother, hating the guilty feeling he had when he looked at this Loser. He saw the undeserved love Naruto had always had for him, but he also saw the resolve. If Sauske ever went dark again it would break his heart, but Naruto would kill him. And even with the Rinnegan, Sauske couldn't take on Konoha. Period. It's not that Sauske wanted to go off on his own, he just couldn't stand to be in the village for long periods of time anymore. He didn't deserve to be. Protecting it from the outside was much more his speed.

"Fine. But we aren't walking. We'll be using the Rinnegan to get back to The Leaf."

Naruto smiled at him and said "Sweet! Captain Yamato lets go take your house down."

"There's nothing for you to do but watch, Naruto."

"Aww, man. Hey, Captain Yamato, I proposed to Hinata before we left, and she said yes!"

"Seriousl- I mean that's wonderful, Naruto, congratulations. Hinata's a sweet girl." Yamato quickly amended his answer at the death glare from the only woman on their team. As Naruto and Captain Yamato walked off, the rest followed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Surprise! I finished my homework early today, so I decided to edit this chapter and post for those who've asked. As always, I don't own Naruto, and let me know what you think!**

 **-BB**

 **On or Off?**

After being transported by Rinnegan to the Hokage's office and giving a full mission report to a pissed off Tsunade, Sakura headed back to her apartment. She was exhausted mentally and emotionally. Kakashi didn't get a chance to respond to her statement, because Captain Yamato entered saying they needed to get to his post as soon as possible. Even though she didn't say it out loud, she knew that Kakashi understood. She'd given him an ultimatum: they go public or it ends. Simple and straight to the point. Kakashi was here, living, breathing, and in one piece. She needed be able to live her life fully, not in sections. If Kakashi didn't want to go public, this was the end of the road. Her heart skipped in pain at thinking about Kakashi choosing to end it. They hadn't had sex, but she felt like they were close. She was determined to be in love with the first man she slept with, and she was in love with Kakashi. She already loved him dearly, so it was easy for that love to turn romantic. At least for her.

She had no idea how he felt. They'd never addressed it. After she got out of the shower, she changed into her pajamas and laid in her bed. She didn't expect to hear from Kakashi tonight. There was too much shit going on and being gone for even a day would put him seriously behind. As soon as she face-planted in her bed, the phone rang. Konoha was advancing quickly, thanks to the genius that is Kakashi Hatake. He wanted to be lazy as hell, but like Sauske said he can't change his genetics. She glanced over, seeing Ino's number pop up. Great, Sakura thought. Word was out that they were back after the shit show. She reluctantly answered.

"What, Ino."

"Is Orochimaru really on the loose again?"

"Who told you that, Pig?"

"Sai, naturally. I have the clearance to hear about it, being in the Interrogation Unit and all," Ino said smugly. Ino had to become a Jonin to join ANBU, even if it was the Interrogation Unit. Sakura never heard the end of it.

"Don't you have some flowers to kill, Pig?"

"Whatever! Anyway, I'm coming over for some mani-pedis tomorrow night, so get out of your funk. Glad you're back in one piece, Forehead! Later!" Ino hung up with out waiting for a response from Sakura. Sakura wouldn't push back on Ino too hard, as they hadn't had any time to hangout recently. Ino and Sai were probably about to get engaged as well, so they spent a lot of time together when they weren't working. And Sakura had been slammed at the hospital, because Tsunade and Shizune were grooming her to take over the children's department. It's why she hadn't had the time or inclination to sit for the Jonin exam. She simply didn't have the energy. Tsunade would be gone, but Shizune was returning to take over for Tsunade as director of the hospital. But Tsunade would be coming to take that role back in a year, tops. Sakura knew that after she got over that fear of blood, she'd never stay away from medicine too long.

Sakura had begun to nod off when she heard a knock at her door. She rolled her eyes and went to the door, figuring it was Naruto and Hinata asking to go to Ichiraku. It was painful to know that Hinata loved Ramen as much as Naruto did. She almost fell on her ass when she looked through the peephole and saw white hair. Not caring too much about her current state (she was clean, after all) she opened the door. Kakashi smiled in relief as he heard the locks turn. He wasn't sure she'd want to talk to him so soon after what happened earlier that day. She stood at the door in the paw print pajamas he'd bought her. His keen sense of smell told him she'd already showered since their return.

"Yo!" He said in his usual greeting style. Sakura stepped back, letting in him into her apartment. She closed the door behind him, then folded her arms protectively around her midsection as she apparently prepared for him to tell her it was over. She doesn't have much confidence in me, he thought wryly.

"What do you need, Kakashi? I was in bed."

"Sakura… it's seven in the evening."

"It's nice to see that you do actually have time awareness." Sakura glared at him after she glanced at the clock behind his head. It was literally 7 P.M. Kakashi shrugged carelessly, moving to sit on the sofa.

"It's helpful out in the field." Sakura stared at the back of his head with her mouth wide open. She then closed it and quickly moved to sit opposite him on the loveseat.

"So…?" She questioned again.

"Sakura… I need you to understand what going public entails. We're 14 years apart, I'm currently the Hokage, your team leader, and at one point, your teacher. Shit that you don't like will be said, and you can't react negatively. You will be dragged into politics. You will be in your 30's before I leave office. I'm sure you'll want to get married and have children in the next couple of years. You need to understand the scrutiny you'll be under, even after I marry you and if we have any children. This is not a fairytale, Sakura. It's real life. It's our lives. I need to know that you understand this." Sakura stared at Kakashi in awe as he admitted he wanted a life. With her. It was clear that he had thought all of this through and thought that they were worth it. But it had only been six months. Had she been hasty in forcing his hand? Suddenly, she felt stupid. If they went public, it would be because he didn't want to lose her, no matter the fallout.

"Kakashi… let's wait. It's only been six months and I was being hasty. I thought about Neji and Tenten and felt like… I don't know, I would miss out on life if we kept this a secret. Can we reevaluate at the year mark?" She asked, then bit her lip and she watched Kakashi watch her.

Kakashi leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, keeping eye contact with Sakura.

"I love you." Sakura almost fell off the couch and died at his words. She caught herself before she hit the ground and felt her cheeks heat when she heard Kakashi laugh at her reaction.

"Kakashi, I didn't say that to force a love confession out of you."

"I'm aware of that Sakura," he stated dryly still watching her movements.

"Then why'd you say it? I'm not asking because I don't believe you, I'm asking because we've never discussed what this was outside of monogamy before. I mean, I call you my boyfriend in my head because I don't know what else to call you, but… I don't know! Ugh, I feel like I've forced you into a corner…" Sakura stopped talking as Kakashi got up and sat next to her. He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"Sakura, you're twisting yourself in unnecessary knots. If you want to wait another six months, I'm okay with that. If you want to do it now, I'm okay with that as well. Whatever you want, we'll work it out."

"What about what you want, Kakashi? You're just saying that you're okay with whatever I decide. This is your future, too."

"I just want you, and I want you to be happy. Tenzou saw you watching me sleep and cry. That can't happen anymore, Sakura, whether we go public or not. We must be able to work together without emotions getting heightened. We're already more emotionally connected than the average team."

Sakura winced as she thought back to that moment. She had completely forgotten where she was when the tears started.

"Sorry," She said sheepishly. "I honestly forgot where we were and the first thing I saw was you." Kakashi smiled and kissed the back of her hand.

"It happens to the best of us. So, what are we going to do?" Sakura looked at the ground, already knowing what she wanted to do, but she knew she had to mention what she suspected Ino had figured out.

"I want to wait, Kakashi. Another six months at least. I'm sorry I made such a fuss about it. Seeing our friends at the engagement dinner may have inspired some envy. But you need to know- Ino is on to us. She saw the way you looked at me, when I hugged Hinata, and she suspected something was up when you whispered in my ear earlier that night." Kakashi nodded her head, knowing the blonde had seen something that night.

"I know. Ten- er Yamato also suspects something. He asked me if we were sleeping together after your little episode." Kakashi added dryly watching the heat crawl into her cheeks.

"Oh my God, I can't believe he saw that," she groaned as she buried her face in Kakashi's arm. He laughed as he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his chest. She wrapped and arm around him and looked up at him for a moment. She raised her hand to his brow and said, "I love you too."


	7. Chapter 7

**OMG! It's been a while! Sorry for the delay, guys. School is** _ **bananas**_ **right now, but I decided to take the time to edit this during a study break. One thing was brought to my attention by the wonderful KibouNoKuro: Kakashi tends to be indecisive in most KakaSaku fanfictions. I personally think that is out of character for him, and you won't see it here. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

 **-BB**

 **The Cat is Out of the Bag**

"Alright, Forehead. Spill!"

"Spill what, Pig?"

"Oh, don't play dumb Sakura! I know you and Kakashi have something going on!"

Sakura put down her mostly eaten pint of ice cream and looked at Ino, who was watching her expectantly.

"Ino. I'm being serious when I say what I tell you cannot leave this room. Kakashi is the Hokage. This is not topic for gossip." Ino's mouth dropped open as Sakura continued.

After a few moments, she screeched "I knew it!"

"Keep your voice down, Pig! It's after ten!"

"Sorry! But oh my God! Forehead! How did you snag Kakashi as a sex partner?" Sakura looked at Ino in confusion.

"I haven't slept with him, Pig. We're dating, but nothing's happened yet."

"Wait… you two are serious?! I thought you were just sleeping together!"

"No, Ino. I'm going to marry Kakashi, have his children, the whole nine yards. No time soon, mind you. But it will happen." Sakura confirmed quietly.

" _Oh my God!_ "

"Pig, shut up!"

"Sorry! I just can't believe this! But if it's this serious, why are you keeping it a secret?"

Sakura sighed as she pushed away the rest of her ice cream. She'd finally lost her appetite. "Because Kakashi is the Hokage. Gossip is bound to follow due to our previous and current connections."

"Meaning that people will talk shit because in their eyes, you're just fucking your teacher?"

"Nailed it right on the head, Pig." Sakura responded dryly.

"Does anybody else know?" "Probably Captain Yamato, but Ino, you've got to keep this a secret. You can't tell Sai, or Shikamaru, or Choji or that bitch he's with okay?"

Ino rolled her eyes as she nodded and confirmed that she wouldn't shout it from the rooftops. Ino was preparing to respond when a knock on the door made her pause.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she rose. "I've never been so popular." This time, the peep hole displayed a cloaked Sauske. Heart failure was really in her future if the men in her life didn't stop startling her. Sakura opened the door.

"Sauske? What are you doing here?" She asked incredulously.

"We need to talk."

"…About what? Sauske, you've spent most of our lives pretending that I don't exist."

Sauske just looked at her impassively. Ino rose with her purse in hand and walked towards the door.

"Sai should be home by now. See ya!"

"Ino!" Sakura called out as the blonde sped walked down the road.

Sakura turned back to Sauske. "Well, you might as well come in."


	8. Chapter 8

**Today is a twofer!**

 **-BB**

 **The Good, the Bad and the Ugly**

The next day, Team Kakashi was called into the Hokage's office. Sakura was in a great mood. She'd just passed the Jonin exam. Anko, Genma, and Raido were on her board. She passed with flying colors, as it was well known that Sakura had been Jonin rank for years. She'd been given her new vest directly after, and she put it on over her hospital uniform. As she walked to the Hokage's Tower, she thought back to the conversation she and Sauske had. She closed the door after he entered and walked to sit back down on her couch. Sauske stood silently until she gestured for him to sit. "What do you want, Sauske?"

"What changed, Sakura?"

Sakura slowly sunk back into her couch and crossed her arms. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you've felt about me for your entire life."

Sakura's eyes and jaw almost fell away from her body. Her hands clenched as she answered him. "You have a ton of nerve, coming into my home after all of the shit you've put all of us through, demanding answers. I don't owe you an explanation, Sauske. You're at least four years too late to get one anyway." She waved her hand dismissively as she rose to let him out of her home.

"You like them broken, don't you?" Sauske said dryly in response to her criticism of his past behavior.

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. She pivoted back to him, intending beat him until he bled. "Naruto…Kakashi…Sai…myself. It's a pattern. Well, not Naruto originally. It took me telling you how spoiled you were before you latched on to him." Sauske then stood. "Why, Sakura? What is it about us? What's the appeal? I left indefinitely, and you latched on to the older version of me."

Sakura froze and dissipated the chakra she'd built in her hands. She realized that Sauske… was hurt. Fuck. It sucked to be able to read him so well. Sauske loved her. Romantically. _Since when?_ Was he expecting her to wait until he _returned_ to start her life? "Sauske…" She said incredulously, "Why? Why are you doing this now? As you so crassly seemed to allude to earlier, I'm in a relationship with Kakashi… _why would you do this to me_? Fuck me, to _him_? Kakashi has _always_ been there for you!"

"This isn't about Kakashi. This is about us."

" _There is no us_ , Sauske! There _never_ was! Did you think I'd wait forever? Indefinitely? I _begged_ you to take me with you. And you left me. _Again_!"

"Sakura… I _couldn't_ be with you the way I was. Itachi-"

Sakura put a fist through her glass living room table. " _Goddamnit_ , Sauske! Even now you're playing the victim! Itachi did _everything_ for you! He _died_ for you! You found out the truth, and what did you do?! _Play the victim_! I don't know much about your older brother, but he chose not to be a victim of his circumstances. He did everything for you, until his last breath. Don't disrespect his memory that way."

Sauske's eyes dropped to the ground, and Sakura was panting through tears when Kakashi appeared in her living room. He put a hand on her shoulder, then addressed Sauske. "My office. Now." When Sauske disappeared via Rinnegan, Kakashi wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm okay, Kakashi. I'm assuming you knew this was coming?" Kakashi sighed and kissed her hair.

"I wasn't sure what he'd confront you about, but an ANBU agent informed me that Sauske had made his way here. Looks like I got away from that meeting just in time."

Sakura squeeze Kakashi as tightly as she could without breaking him in half. "I was mean…"

"I'm sure you were, Sakura. Unfortunately, that conversation was a long time coming."

She then looked up at him. "Did you know…?"

"How he felt about you? Yes. I've spent the last four years trying to convince him to tell you."

"But… we've been together for six months…all four years?" Kakashi let Sakura go, and went to sit on the couch. She straddled him, sensing he wanted distance, but she couldn't give it to him. Not right now, anyway.

He chuckled as he realized what she was doing. He put his hand on her hip and answered her question. "Yes, all four years. Sakura, you still care about him, otherwise you wouldn't be so upset."

Sakura looked Kakashi in his stormy eyes while she contemplated her response. " _Of course,_ I still care about him Kakashi. But it's no longer romantic. I started to let go of him four years ago, and when we got together, I'd already been dating. I was ready to move on. I love you. _I'm in love with you._ Sauske's ill timed 'confession' has no bearing on that." She kissed his cheek and moved to rise from him, when he pulled her tightly to his body. She could feel him shaking, and quietly ran her hands through his hair until he regained his composure.

"Well, I guess I won't be coming back here tonight. I have to make sure Sauske's good, then get back to work." Sakura sat back, then kissed Kakashi sweetly.

"You're a good man, Kakashi."

Coming back to the present, she walked into Kakashi's office and was immediately picked up off the ground by Naruto, and quietly congratulated by Sai (who was already a Jonin), Captain Yamato, and Kakashi. Sauske was nowhere to be seen. "I thought this was a Team Kakashi meeting. Where's Sauske?" Sakura asked as she sat down in front of the desk.

"He's running late, but we'll begin without him. Kakashi said, trying not to laugh as Naruto cursed Sauske's name. "Orochimaru poisoned the hunting team on his trail and left them for dead. Luckily, Tsunade is still in the village, or they _would_ be dead. The room went silent at that pronouncement. "Never the less, this confirms that yet again, Orochimaru is an S-Rank criminal. Tsunade is making antidotes and vaccinations for all of us against the poisons. That will be complete in about a week. Sakura, Tsunade said that you are expected to help in the poisons and antidotes department at the hospital until this is done. Due to the urgency, she's pulled you off the hospital schedule, and I've pulled you all off the active duty roster."

"Of course. I'll head there after the meeting."

"You'll head there in the morning. We're all taking tonight to celebrate you passing the Jonin exam." They all smiled at her, and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from bawling in the middle of the floor.

"You guys are literally the best." Sakura said in an emotional voice. Naruto started crying (naturally) while the others laughed softly at Sakura trying not to strangle Naruto out of pure embarrassment. "Naruto. I love you, but if you don't let me go, I will kill you." Naruto quickly let go of Sakura and moved to the other side of the room. Sauske showed up shortly after, and they finished up the meeting. They all headed down to Ichiraku to meet the rest of the group, then they all walked to a Karaoke bar in the civilian part of the village. They were thanked several times in route for their service, and it reminded them all why they loved their home so much. Sakura was standing at the bar waiting on drinks when Kakashi walked up beside her. She smiled at him and asked "What are you doing up here? It's my turn to get rounds."

Kakashi smiled back saying, "I'm paying for your rounds." This was like the fourth time this week that Sakura had almost died of heart failure.

Kakashi laughed heartily and followed up with, "Don't get used to it," and winked at her. She quickly downed the rest of her current drink, hoping that being drunk would cover up her continuous state of blush around her boyfriend.

Kakashi laughed even harder, understanding what she was up to. "Shut up," she muttered, leaving him to take care of the drinks.

When she came back, Ino asked her from Sai's lap, "Where are the drinks, forehead?"

"Kakashi's taking care of them." Ino winked at her, and unfortunately it was a wink most of the group caught.

"Why are you winking at Sakura while talking about Kakashi?" Sai asked simply. Their private karaoke room was deathly silent suddenly. Fuck me, Sakura thought, as she shot Ino a death glare. Then she put on a fake smile saying,

"Oh, he's taking care of my round, and Ino is drunk as usual. Ignore her, guys." Some people bought it, but people like Yamato, Shikamaru, and Shino looked like they were putting two and fucking two together. Sakura looked around the room saying "Guys, seriously. It's only because I got out of buying drinks tonight. She's jealous."

"Totally," Ino said building on the white lie. Sensing some serious discomfort, Hinata jumped in, asking her fiancé to sing something with her. Naruto, the next Hokage with ADD, was easily distracted, while others were watching her warily.

Sauske simply smirked as he realized Kakashi and Sakura's relationship was a secret. It couldn't be that significant if they were hiding it. As everyone made their way back to their district, they hung on to one another, some singing loudly, and others laughing loudly. They all split off to their prospective areas, and Sakura walked home alone. Kakashi had returned to Hokage Tower to see if there was an update on the Snake Sannin before promising to meet her at her place late to early morning.

Sakura was dead tired when she hit the sheets. She'd could literally only stand to take her clothes off and sleep in her underwear. Peace only lasted a couple of seconds, as she realized someone was in her apartment. She hopped up into a defensive stance, barely dodging the senbon her attacker tried to lodge in her neck.

Kakashi sighed as he listened to the report Genma gave about Orochimaru's movements. Once he'd returned with drinks, he'd noticed some lingering stares from the group, and Sakura slid him a concerned glance. Some, maybe all of them, had figured out something was going on between them. Sauske looked especially smug. After their conversation yesterday, Sauske didn't seem to think much of them as a couple. Did he think he still had a chance? But no matter, Sakura was his. And if they did know, it didn't really matter. He'd already told Sakura that it didn't and that was true. This was it for them, contrary to what Sauske seemed to believe. It was truly a matter of time. Kakashi wondered when he'd reached that decision. Probably after their first date. It was the most natural thing for them both. So natural, that Sakura was already on birth control before their second date. He wasn't planning on sleeping with her until they were both one hundred percent, and now that they were it was simply a matter of timing. Kakashi knew that Sakura was a virgin. He also knew this was a big deal to her as she'd vowed to be in love with her first, Sauske or not.

"Kakashi!" Kakashi was yanked from his thoughts when Shikamaru burst into the meeting with something akin to dread on his face. Kakashi's stomach did not like that look. "We've gotta get to the hospital." Kakashi stood and followed after Shikamaru knowing he wouldn't have interrupted had it not been one of their people.

"Who is it?" He asked quietly already knowing the answer.

"It's Sakura."


	9. Chapter 9

**Surprise! School is still bat-shit crazy! Since this not my first time at the rodeo, you'd think I'd be used to it, huh? Nope, not even close. Let me know what you think and enjoy!**

 **-BB**

 **The Mission**

Kakashi was already in the waiting room pacing by the time Shikamaru made it. When Shikamaru had confirmed his fear, he cursed and teleported to the hospital, demanding answers as soon as he materialized. He was told that Shizune was working on her now, and Lady Tsunade would be arriving shortly. When Shikamaru asked for an update, Kakashi tersely gave him the information, so that he could notify the rest of their people. Too busy being in his own grief, he almost missed Sauske and Sai sitting on a bench with a dazed looks on their faces. Sauske was covered in blood, so he figured he'd been the one to bring Sakura here.

"Sauske." Kakashi stated, "What the fuck happened?"

"She was attacked by Jugo. He almost looked… reanimated. She was pulling her punches and almost got gutted by a poison blade trying not to destroy her apartment building and kill those in it. She probably saved her own life by pushing chakra into the wound before passing out. Luckily Sai heard the commotion and ran to the location. He was able to subdue him until ANBU arrived."

"Since when is Jugo dead, Sauske?"

"I have no clue. I haven't kept up with them. Chances are he's not the only one."

"Motherfucker! Sai. Go to ANBU. Now. Tell them every fucking thing."

"Yes sir." Sai quickly left the hospital. Naruto, Ino, and Hinata burst in next.

"Where the fuck is she!" Naruto now worked with Kurama, but that didn't mean that when he was upset he didn't take on the characteristics of the nine tails.

"Naruto. You need to calm down. She's in surgery. Tsunade or Shizune will send someone to update us."

"Naruto, please calm down. I'm positive that Lady Tsunade and Shizune will do everything they can for her. Sakura wouldn't want you to be this upset." Hinata quietly informed Naruto. At Hinata's words, Naruto focused on his breathing and slowly Kurama's traits receded. Hinata quickly grabbed his hand, and at her touch, Naruto turned and buried his head in her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. Hinata closed her eyes and tried to keep herself together when she felt his tears hit her neck.

"Naruto…" Ino said brokenly as she put her hand on his shoulder. The next commotion was in the form of a blonde haired Hokage.

" _Move!_ " Tsunade barely kept herself from shoving the civilian into another dimension. As she ran into the hospital, she saw some of the Konoha Eleven. She knew it was bad when she sensed the Kurama's chakra suffocating the room. "Fuck! _Move out of the way!_ " Tsunade picked up speed as she barreled through the front of the hospital and prayed she'd made it in time. Everyone in the waited room seemed to release bated breath when they heard more than saw Tsunade.

"Lord Sixth." Kakashi nodded when one of his guards appeared. Apparently, there was information he needed to know. He looked at Shikamaru who immediately stood up and quickly walked towards him. Kakashi put his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and teleported them back to his office and saw Ibiki waiting for them.

"What do you have, Ibiki?"

"Jugo is not dead, Kakashi. Orochimaru's curse mark had been evolved."

"I figured as much. There's no way Orochimaru would kill someone that valuable to him. What's changed?"

"We don't know yet. The area where his curse mark was known to be has completely changed."

"Interrogation?"

"We've been looking for Ino, and before I came up here I was told she was coming here from the hospital."

"Good. Keep me updated."

"Yes sir." Ibiki disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shikamaru sighed and wondered aloud.

"What the fuck is going on? Why would that psychopath attack Sakura out of all of us? The intent was clearly to kill."

"The intent was to poison and capture her, then use her as a negotiation tool." Kakashi said quietly. "Somehow, Orochimaru knows what Sakura is to me." Shikamaru turned and faced Kakashi.

"And what is Sakura to you, Kakashi?"

Kakashi laughed bitterly. "You of all people already know the answer to that question, Shikamaru."

"At this point, it's our groups worst kept secret. Even Naruto suspects something."

Kakashi sighed and leaned back on his desk crossing his arms and legs. "Sakura wanted to wait another six months or so. We've only been together for six months."

"Why does that matter? Kakashi, you of all people know what our life expectancy is. And I'm surprised Sakura wanted that. She was the most affected by Neji and Tenten's short lived relationship."

"She did it for me. For this very reason. She wanted to go public before we left, and I basically dissuaded her telling her all of what comes with her publicly being mine. This was one of the risks. But how in the fuck does Orochimaru know what's going on in my village to this extent? Who would betray us?"

"Maybe it's not betrayal as much as someone like Jugo on surveillance. That evolved curse mark… we don't know what the fuck it does. Sauske made it sound like she was snuck up on. She was only in her underwear, as if she was attacked after she'd gone to bed, or tried to, anyway. She clearly realized someone was in her apartment before she fell asleep. Otherwise we'd be sending out a search team."

Kakashi's eyes closed at those words. He should have gone home with her first, then come back to the tower to hear the report. Shit. How many times would he continue to fuck up with the people he loved? Hadn't he learned this lesson with Obito? Rin? Minato? His Dad? Things had to be different when this was over. "Let's head back to the hospital."

"Kakashi, wait. I need to run something by you. Gaara… he's still here."

"Shikamaru. We _cannot_ involve Suna in this."

"Why not? This is a different ball game now, Kakashi."

"We let Orochimaru live. We'll have to put him down. Let's go."

Shikamaru knew that was the end of the discussion. Kakashi put his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder again and returned them to the hospital. Unfortunately, they teleported right into a war zone.

"Sage Art: Rasenshuriken!" Kakashi turned to see Naruto slicing through the front of the hospital, trying to keep the attackers away from civilians and Sakura. The ninja attacking were forced outside of the building. Naruto had only broken the front windows on the hospital, making sure the building remained structurally sound. Kakashi looked around to see who was currently fighting.

"Fang Over Fang!" Looks like Kiba and Akamaru had returned from the reconnaissance mission and straight into a fight.

"Fire Style: Fireball Justu!" Kakashi heard Sauske's voice behind him, followed by a scream. He didn't seem to be using the Sharingan or Rinnegan, and Naruto was in Sage Mode only. This hadn't gotten out of hand just yet.

"Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll!"

Kakashi saw a tiger rise from the paper, and then went into action. "Kiba! Sai! Shikamaru! Go stand guard in front of the OR!" The men moved immediately, and Kakashi picked up where Kiba and Sai left of.

"Purple Lightning!" Kakashi put his hand right through the heart of a ninja wearing a Sound hitate.

"Naruto! How many of them are there?"

"Fifteen to Twenty! We've taken out the majority already."

"Leave one alive, he'll need to be interrogated." Shortly after Kakashi joined in, the fight was over. He was dragging the only living ninja towards an ANBU operative.

"Take him to Ibiki and Ino immediately. Once they have what they need, kill him."

"Yes sir." After hearing his fate, the Sound ninja tried to fight back, but he was knocked unconscious by the ANBU agent who disappeared immediately after.

"Why did they attack the hospital? To finish Sakura off?" Naruto asked as his Sage Mode markings disappeared.

"To complete the original mission, which was to kidnap her. They must not know that she is in no state to travel." Kakashi thought, then followed up with what he now understood to be true.

"Jugo was the leader of this mission. He's in our custody. Since he didn't show up with Sakura in a reasonable amount of time, they came to the most logical place."

"Looks like something has pushed Orochimaru's patience," Shikamaru stated thoughtfully.

"More like he happened upon an opportunity. Someone is watching the village, more specifically your group and teachers. He found out about Sakura and me somehow and was hoping to use her to get his way."

"Kakashi!" Yamato was running towards them with a vial in their hands. "This was found on Jugo."

Kakashi cursed as this made his theory accurate. It was the antidote to what Sakura was poisoned with. They didn't want her dead, they just wanted her subdued with the possibility of death if she didn't comply. "Yamato. Deliver that to Shizune or Tsunade personally. _No one else is to accept it_ , understand? They are in operating room 3."

"Yes sir!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! I'm back after realizing that I haven't updated this story since October. School still sucks, but I'll try to upload more often than every four months!**

 **-BB**

 **The Reassurance**

Sakura woke up feeling like shit. Her abdomen was throbbing, and the very marrow of her bones ached. But she didn't understand why. Then it hit her like a freight train: going to bed, only to have to dodge a senbon thrown by Jugo, of all fucking people. She didn't even have time to really process what was happening before she realized that she couldn't really use brute strength. There was no chance of her not demolishing this building and killing everyone in it if she did. So, she did what she'd accused Naruto of less than a week ago; pulled punches. But even Sakura's pulled punches hurt like a bitch, which caused to Jugo pull an obviously poisoned kunai from his robe. She cursed, knowing that they were nowhere near an antidote for that shit. But in a quick flash, she saw one on Jugo. That reassured her, and she put a little more into her punches. That seemed to just piss him off, and he activated his curse mark. Only… that curse mark looked completely different that it did originally. Fuck, he's evolved that damn mark, Sakura thought as she back flipped over her couch towards the front door. And she'd just replaced her damn coffee table! She'd gotten him outside, but he had his back to her apartment building. He knew that if she vaulted him through the building, others would be injured, and that was something Sakura wanted to avoid completely. Sakura was also suspicious of why Jugo hadn't attacked her with his full force. Shit. He was planning to kidnap her, not kill her. Orochimaru had found out about Kakashi and her. When Sakura heard Sauske, she knew she had to at least incapacitate Jugo before she got poisoned. Or try to anyway. So, she ran away from the building, stopped dead, pivoted, and put full strength into a right hook. Jugo almost gutted her, but she'd been prepared and had put protective chakra around her vital organs. She pushed chakra to the wound until she passed out. She'd already stopped the internal bleeding before she lost consciousness in Sauske's arms. Tsunade or Shizune would just have to keep her alive long enough to have someone bring them that antidote on Jugo. Since she was alive, it seems like her life-threatening plan worked. Her mouth was incredibly dry, and she shuffled to sit up on the bed.

"Stop moving, girl. Shizune! Bring me a glass of water and a straw." Sakura was relieved to hear the commanding voice of her master.

"Lady Tsun-"

"Shut up, Sakura! Shizune! Water, now!"

"Here I am! Sakura, you know the drill. Drink slowly." Sakura did her best not to inhale the water after the first sip and her master's warning look.

"Looks like you had us worried for nothing. You'd pretty much taken care of business before you lost consciousness. I don't need to tell you that plans like that only work if medics your grade or better are in the area?" Tsunade asked Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not. I knew that either you or Shizune would be available."

"I'm assuming you figured out exactly what Jugo wanted during that fight, and you saw the antidote." Sakura froze at that voice and heard rather than felt her heart rate speed up.

"Kakashi. I will put you out if you are here to cause problems."

"It's okay, Lady Tsunade. I just hadn't realized anyone else was in the room." Sakura turned to really look at the love of her life. His mask hid it well, but Kakashi looked like shit. His eyes looked bruised from lack of sleep, and his clothes looked majorly lived in.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two and a half weeks." Sakura's eyes widened to saucers.

"Seriously?"

"The antidote needed to be replicated and spread to the others who were poisoned. It can also only be given intravenously. Leave it to Orochimaru to make it as difficult as possible to administer an antidote. What Jugo had on him would have kept you alive long enough to get you to Orochimaru's new hideout." Sakura revolted at the thought of Orochimaru having her in his-

"Wait, new hideout?" Kakashi got up and moved to sit on the other side of her hospital bed.

"We found him. He's currently in our custody. We will archive all his memories, then he will be executed. Karin, Suiegetsu, and Jugo will be moved maximum security prisons once the sensory ninja are done with them. Even with Ino's abilities that mirror Inojin's, it will take months, maybe even a year before we get all we need. Sakura closed her eyes and thanked the universe that Orochimaru was finally where he deserved to be.

"Was anybody hurt, other than me?"

"No, everyone is fine, thanks to you." Kakashi smiled his fake smile at her, and she knew she needed to get Tsunade and Shizune out of the room before he lost it.

"Lady Tsunade… Shizune…" Tsunade smiled sadly and patted Sakura's hand before she and Shizune took leave. Sakura and Kakashi noticed that Tsunade put a chakra lock on the door and soundproofed it before walking away. Kakashi chuckled and lowered his head.

"Guess I'm not as secretive as I thought, huh?" Sakura held out her arms to him, and he immediately wrapped her up tightly knowing that she was just really sore right now.

"Sakura…"

"Shh, I know. I'm sorry." Sakura ran her hand through his tangled hair and rubbed the other hand down his back soothingly. She almost hissed at the pain from being so sore, but she suffered quietly, knowing that Kakashi needed to know she was still here.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey hey! I'm back… for now, anyway. I have and I haven't decided where I want to take this story, and I'm interested to know what you guys would prefer- another chapter and an epilogue, or like… four more chapters and an epilogue? Either way, the quality will be there, I just wanna know if y'all would prefer my "dream" writing of Naruto and a more fleshed out Hyuga's Fate, or a decently long conclusion to this one, my regular updates of HF, then my dream writing once I'm quite a few chapters in? The choice is (seriously) yours!**

 **-BB**

 **The Proposal?**

 **Six weeks later**

"I'm gone for the day! See you guys tomorrow!" Sakura smiled and waved as she exited the hospital after a 12-hour day. She sighed in happy exhaustion as she made her way to the Hokage's Residence. She and Kakashi had gone public the day she'd woken up, and after she'd been on what people thought was her deathbed, they were more than willing to overlook the… discrepancies in their relationship. Sakura nor Kakashi had ever been ones to look a gift horse in the mouth. Kakashi was currently headed back from a diplomatic mission to the Cloud and would be back late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Sakura decided to stop and pick up dinner just in case, and a surprise for Kakashi on her way home. Sakura opened the door and was surprised to see Kakashi's pack on the ground. She smiled as she focused a bit more and heard the shower running. He'd planned to make it home when she did. She quietly closed the door, put dinner on the dinning room table, then ran into one of the spare bedrooms and put a chakra lock on it. Kakashi had no qualms about busting into a room if he knew she was in there. Knowing she didn't have much time, she quickly changed into the lingerie she just bought. She and Kakashi still had not had sex. Oh, they'd done everything but actual penetration at this point, but Sakura was tired of waiting. Kakashi wanted Sakura to be certain she was ready, and he never rushed her. She'd even tried to wake up on top lowering onto him, but she was too tight and he was too big for that to be their first time. She'd need some practice before she took on _that_ angle. So, she was forcing the issue tonight. She quickly put her "no rounds" outfit back on top of the pieces, put her heels back on, broke the chakra lock, then walked right into Kakashi's damp, naked chest. She slowly looked up after he caught her, and pulled the door closed behind her.

"What's going on, Sakura?"

"Nothing, just a surprise you can't see just yet. Welcome home." She pressed her lips to his, expecting a quick kiss, but was wonderfully surprised to see that the two weeks they'd spent apart weighed on him as well. She moaned and pushed her hands through his hair as he deepened the kiss, forcing her mouth to open with his own, their tongues caressed and battled for dominance until they ran out of air. He squeezed her ass in his hands, then smiled at her. Her heart rate picked up. She'd never get used to an unmasked Kakashi smiling at her. It was like staring directly at a fucking solar eclipse. She moved her hands from his damp hair to wrap around his neck and smiled back at him.

"I brought dinner, though I have to cook it first. I wasn't expecting you to get home so early," She said apologetically.

"No worries. I came here before talking to Shikamaru, so I'll be getting briefed and lectured before I can make it back tonight." Kakashi pecked her lips again, then walked back towards the bedroom. Then he suddenly stopped.

"Why are you taller than normal?"

"Oh, I wore heels today. No rounds, just paperwork and meetings." Kakashi slowly turned around and looked at what Sakura had only fully. It was her normal hospital get up when she didn't have rounds: a red button-down blouse, a white pencil skirt, skin tone stockings, and a pair of white heels he'd never seen before. Her hair was piled messily on top of her head, like it was an afterthought once she'd spent most of the day running her hands through it. He understood that. Any meeting with Tsunade would be… trying. Kakashi swallowed audibly as Sakura turned and walked towards the kitchen. That outfit never failed to show off her figure, and today was no different. Her ass looked amazing, especially with the assistance of the heels. Kakashi licked his lips, then forced himself to finish getting dressed so that he could get back as soon as humanly possible. Sakura was smiling triumphantly as she made her way back to the kitchen and put on the apron, preparing to make a stir fry with Kakashi's favorite veggie mix, and some pork. She'd also found a barely sweet desert that Kakashi would probably love. Apparently, he'd just teleported to and from his office because he appeared in the living room just as she was pulling the spongy cake out of the oven. She quickly placed the cake down and turned toward Kakashi, smiling while she walked around the island.

"How did your meeti…"

Sakura's voice was cut off as Kakashi wrapped his hands around her waist and meet his lips with hers. She didn't respond at first because she was startled, but she quickly found what had become their rhythm. She broke the kiss to catch her breath.

"Kakashi… what's going on?" Her breath caught as his lips moved down her neck, and his hands moved to their normal place on her ass. Kakashi had teleported into the living room after suffering through a predictable lecture and briefing for the past two hours, only to see a sight he'd been distracted by- Sakura bent over in that white skirt. He moved his lips up the column of her throat, then whispered in her ear.

"Dinner can wait, right?" Sakura's eyes almost came out of their sockets. She pushed back so she could he his unmasked face wondering if he was serious.

"But… I thought we were waiting? Seriously, Kakashi. What's going on?" She asked this as he picked her up and walked towards the bedroom.

"Sakura, I've been picking up these not so subtle hints you've been dropping," He said as he slid open the door with his foot. "It wasn't that I wanted to wait per se, I just needed to know you wanted this." He dropped her on the bed. "Buying lingerie and slipping it on in a chakra locked room is a pretty good sign to me." He laughed as she went crimson from the neck up. She quickly sat up and took off her heels, the crawled toward the end of the bed, then sat back on her heels. She played with hem of her skirt and asked quietly,

"Was it too much? I... I obviously don't have any experience, so I don't know what you like… what you want…" She shrugged her shoulders and look up at him embarrassingly. "It was just a guess." Kakashi smiled down at her adoringly, then sat next to her and threw his arm across her shoulder.

"Sakura, I love you. Just you. The lingerie is probably very pretty, and the heels and skirt were a very nice touch, but that isn't what I need from you. That's not what I want from you, playing a role or playing a guessing game as to what I'd like. I want you. I like you. That's it." Sakura looked into his eyes while he spoke, and inner Sakura was having a field day after having her man acknowledge her effort and tell her that she was enough. Not that Kakashi had ever said otherwise, it was just nice to hear it every once and a while. Inner Sakura also wondered when in the hell Kakashi was going to propose to her. Since she'd woken up, Hinata and Naruto had secretly eloped while on a mission, Temari and Shikamaru were now engaged, and so were Ino and Sai. Sakura was happy for her Pig and Sai but was slightly distraught at the fact that Sai was getting married before she did, shorter romantic relationship or not.

"Sakura, what in the hell are you thinking about?" Sakura came back to Earth and looked over at Kakashi. Her Inner Sakura filter hadn't quite been replaced, so she unfortunately blurted out the last thing she thought about.

"I'm slightly… what's the word… distraught that Sai is going to actually marry Pig! What's even worse is that Ino is getting married before I am! I used to talk so much shit- jokingly, of course, about Sai marrying her on his death bed. Now who's going to end up getting married on their damn deathbed?" She muttered, completely forgetting who she was talking to. Kakashi looked on while Sakura talked, wondering if she even realized who she was talking to. It was like she was inside her own head. He also had to keep from laughing at the Sai comments, because they all thought it would be a cold day in hell before Sai married Ino. Not because Sai wasn't capable of loving anyone, but because Ino was… a lot to deal with. He looked up to the ceiling as he wondered if their group said the same thing about Sakura and him. Then he really did laugh out loud, knowing that's exactly what they'd say. Sakura's head snapped towards him when he started laughing, and she slowly realized what she'd said, and who she'd said it to. She went crimson, and tried to ease away from Kakashi, and hoped the ground would swallow her whole. Kakashi laughed even harder when he saw Sakura trying to move away from him out of sheer mortification. He moved quickly before she could put some chakra behind her strength and pinned her underneath him on the bed. She naturally spread her thighs so that he could rest between them but squeaked and tried to close them as she thought about how forward that was considering that Kakashi was finally willing to have sex with her. Kakashi sat up slowly, looking her in the eyes, then put his hands on her knees and spread her legs once again, and settled comfortably. They kept eye contact, and Sakura got slightly emotional at the love she saw in his eyes. And then without fail, he opened his mouth.

"We can't have sex if your legs are closed, Sakura. Surely you know how this works…right?"

"You are _such_ an asshole!" Sakura finally found the strength to put chakra into her hands, and she threw him into the nearest wall without managing to damage it or him. He counted himself lucky. Kakashi had a hard time finding his breath, laughing as she prepared to stomp out of the room. Before she hit the threshold, Kakashi appeared in front of her, with a serious look on his face.

"We won't beat Sai and Ino, but we can be a pretty close second." Sakura looked at Kakashi in disbelief.

"Is that your idea of a proposal?!"

"Well…no. I thought we'd been on the same page since my slight relief meltdown at the hospital six weeks ago."

"What the hell are you talking about, Kakashi?" Sakura ground out between her teeth.

"…We've been engaged for six weeks, right?" Sakura had to put her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. After a taking a few moments to calm down, Sakura thought back to that day.

After Kakashi had calmed, he sat up and sat in the chair next to her bed. With his arms resting on the arm rest and one hand lifted to support his head. He looked outside quietly.

"Well, there's no question now, is there?"

"No question about what?" Sakura winced as she sat up a little bit more. She then turned her head towards the same window Kakashi was looking out of. Shizune was standing outside, blushing as she spoke to Captain Yamato. Weird. Kakashi turned his eyes back to her.

"About getting married. You clearly cannot be trusted to take care of yourself." Sakura's hands almost ripped the sheets apart.

"Kakashi, I don't care how sore I am right now. I will get up and _beat the shit out of you_." Sweat started pouring down his face, and he quickly amended his statement.

"I mean, we can take care of one another. Isn't that a part of the deal?" Sakura sat back in her bed, and Kakashi sighed in relief as he avoided being put in this awful place right next to her.

"Kakashi, how are you even here? You get anxious just walking me here for work most of the time." It was Kakashi's turn to look confused.

"Where else would I have been? How could I threaten Tsunade with retiring everyday if you didn't return to me the way you were? She never leaves this damn place." Sakura did her best not to burst out laughing, mainly because it would hurt like a bitch.

"Naruto is your successor, remember?" Kakashi snorted as he readjusted in the chair.

"He is not ready, and Lady Tsunade knows that just as well as I do. There's no one in this village outside of her and myself who can handle this right now."

"Someone is pretty confident these days."

"I've never been a liar, Sakura. We both know that." Kakashi glanced back in her direction with a smile on his face.

"So, how about it?"

"Yeah, Kakashi. This is the marriage proposal I've always dreamt of." Sakura said dryly as she called for the nurse. Sakura flashed back to the present. She lowered her hand slowly to control the urge to strangle her lazy-ass boyfriend.

"Oh, Kakashi," she said pitifully.

"That was _not_ a proposal, _you idiot_! And I answered you sarcastically! Surely you didn't forget your favorite pastime while recovering from your 'slight relief meltdown'."

"You said it like that wasn't what it was. Mental health is important in our field, Sakura. I shouldn't have to tell you, the second-best medical ninja in the vill-where are you going?"

"Out of this house before I _strangle_ you!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone! I'm back! Please cut me some slack as I work on this one, I'm packing for two moves this summer and its... a fucking task. I've also been playing Apex Legends, and let's just say... I'm less trash than I was when I started (I've never played FPS. Ever.) Anyway, here's the next chapter. Keep in mind that this story is _technically_ about Kakashi ******_(with some KakaSaku.)_** I also had to remind myself of this. As always, leave some reviews to let me know what you think!**

 **-BB**

 **The Crossroad**

"Ow! You motherfu- _Kakashi_!", Sakura yelled as he tagged her right arm while they sparred. "Goddamnit, I told you not to bruise me! Pig will kill me if I show up to the wedding with big ass bruises!"

Kakashi chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Sakura. You aren't paying attention, and the teacher in me wants to remind you to do so. What's up?"

Sakura sighed and walked in the opposite direction.

"Not only has Lady Tsunade forebode me from using chakra, she did it on the weekend that I'm spending being Pig's bitch!" Sakura then dramatically collapsed under a large tree.

"How is that any different from every other day? Sakura, I'm joking, it's a joke!" Kakashi laughed even harder as Sakura rolled out of her face plant in the grass to strangle Kakashi- they both knew she didn't need chakra if she was angry.

"I hate you. I hate Orochimaru. I hate Shizu-"

"That's a lot of hate, Sakura."

"It's not enough, if you ask me."

Kakashi moved to sit behind Sakura so he could wrap his arms around her to console her. He kissed her forehead (much to her chagrin) and leaned his chin on her shoulder. "It's temporary, you know that. I don't have enough lives left to see you pass out like that again."

Sakura thought back to the day that she was storming out of the Hokage's residence. After yelling at Kakashi the final time, she stopped because her chakra flow suddenly became erratic. She turned to Kakashi with fear in her eyes.

"Sakura, what's going on with your-"

"It's not me, I don't know…", then Sakura proceeded to drop to the floor like a ton of bricks. Literally. There was a Sakura sized hole in the floor.

Kakashi rushed Sakura's unconscious body to the hospital where Tsunade was walking out of a meeting with Shizune. " Lady Tsunade!"

She quickly turned at the urgency in Kakashi's voice. "What the hell are you doing here? Why are you carrying… why are you sweating… what's going on with her chakra?"

"I don't know, she lost control of it then lost consciousness at my house. When she fell, she left a _crater_ in the fucking floor!"

Tsunade rushed over to the pair and quickly realized that he was sweating because Sakura's chakra was weighing her down significantly. "I've got her. How long ago?"

"Four minutes, thirty-nine seconds. I was afraid to transport her."

"Shit, I'll have to get a Hyuga here to disable her chakra points. Shizune, go find Hinata. I believe Naruto said they were having Ichiraku for dinner, Gods help them." Tsunade rolled her eyes as Shizune ran out of the hospital. "Was she doing anything out of the ordinary before it happened?"

"She threw me into a wall-"

"So, no?"

"Today is the first time she's used Chakra since you released her from the hospital."

Tsunade stopped walking, then quickly sped up to the room she sought. "How is that possible? It's been six weeks!"

"She's been in the poisons lab with Shizune, as far as I know. Shizune formally requested that Sakura be relieved of healing duties until everyone affected had eight weeks without chakra use. Unfortunately, she also asked me not to mention it to Sakura because _she's_ unreasonable and can't be trusted not to disobey direct orders."

Tsunade's jaw tensed as she realized that Shizune and the Hokage had put their ninjas in possibly fatal scenarios. She placed Sakura down on one of the heavier duty tables just in case her chakra began to exert more pressure. "I can't treat her until we get a look at her chakra points. Her vitals are fine, so that's good news."

"Lady Tsunade!"

Tsunade turned to see Shizune, Hinata, Naruto, and oddly Sauske rushing down the long corridor.

"What happened to Sakura? I thought she was okay!"

"Naruto! Do not yell in my hospital. Hinata, please examine her chakra points before we disable them."

Hinata nodded and got to work. " _Byakugan!_ Oh my!"

"What is it, Hinata? What do you see?" Naruto rushed to Hinata's side and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Shut up, Naruto. That is my final warning. What are you seeing?" Tsunade asked as she walked towards Hinata with her hands on her hips.

"Well… I can't see her chakra points... _at all_. It's like they're gone!"

The room got suddenly silent as they all evaluated what that meant.

"Are you saying that her chakra points… have been _destroyed_?!" Tsunade asked against her better judgement.

Hinata shook her head. "No, Lady Tsunade. It looks like she doesn't have any at all. Like… she _never_ had any."

Tsunade had to restrain herself from putting a hole through the wall.

"Find Ino and prep Orochimaru for interrogation. Hopefully I won't kill him _before_ I get the information I need."

Shizune turned suddenly towards Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, you don't mean-"

"Yes, Shizune. This was probably an additional effect of the poison. An effect you predicted and kept from me and another medical professional that endangered her life, but I'll deal with _you_ later." Shizune gulped as Tsunade glared at her.

"With all due respect, Lady Tsunade, I took this through the proper channels. You are no longer the Hokage, and the Hokage approved this."

"That doesn't mean _shit_ to me, just like your actions prove you nor the sixth Hokage give a shit about the girl lying in this bed or the other ninjas facing the same fate.", Tsunade said as he prepared to transport to the interrogation's unit. She then stopped and turned towards Kakashi.

" _Everyone out!_ "

Everybody moved except for the man she was turned to. He then put a chakra seal on the room.

"Do we have the time to do this now?", Kakashi asked quietly. "Isn't Sakura at a precipice-"

"This is Orochimaru's bargaining chip. She'll be fine once I figure out what he wants. That's not to say that I won't be killing him after she's conscious again."

"Lady Tsunade, that's _not_ an option at this time."

Tsunade slowly walked toward Kakashi deceptively calm, and they both knew it.

"Was this a mistake? Naming you Hokage? Should I have just trained Naruto and given it to him in five to seven years?"

"I thought Shizune was being cautious, not that she knew-"

Tsunade finally gave in and punched the wall beside Kakashi's head, although she did it without chakra to prevent the building from collapsing.

"That is _not_ what I fucking asked you. _Did. I. Make. A. Mistake?_ Do you think I'm _dumb_ enough to believe you would have put anybody other than her or the rest of that fucking team on glorified leave for any other reason than you wanting to protect them? There's no way in hell Sakura should have been in the poisons department for _six weeks_ when runs the children's wing! Do you know how quickly shit goes south for those children if something goes wrong?"

"How would allowing her to work have changed anything? This would have just happened-"

" _Six weeks ago!_ I don't know what the fuck Orochimaru has done to this girl's body! For all I know he put a fucking curse mark on her! A Hokage must be able to think objectively in situations like this- and you fucking failed. So, I'll ask for the final time- _did I making a fucking mistake naming you Hokage_?!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Lmao- I'm trash.** It's been almost a year since I updated this story (it's been a year since I updated the last one.) Life has really been getting in the way, but since we are social distancing (something I've done from birth) I have more time. Keep your distance, stay at home, wash your fucking hands, and enjoy a new chapter!

P.S. This hasn't really been proofread. I wanted to get out for those who've been waiting for me to be less trash. I like to proofread a few days later, so I'll be back to do that.

 **-BB**

 **The Scalpels**

"So, the girl has finally used her chakra." Orochimaru laughed at the vengeance apparent in Tsunade's features. "I know you cover them, but you still get wrinkles, Princess."

Tsunade had to keep herself from reaching through the bars and banging his head against them- not that it would hurt since he was now eternal. "Where's the antidote?"

"What, no bargaining? Hmph. You know better than that, Tsunade."

"You're still breathing, aren't you? That's the only bargain you get from me today. I promised you many, many years ago that if you threatened the life of those in this village, I'd kill you. I been stupidly sentimental, hoping that one day you'd change. For the past four years specifically, I'd hoped that you'd remain engrossed in simple research to honor Jiraiya… that hope is no longer present. So, you'll die today, as soon as you give me what I'm here for. Now."

Orochimaru didn't hold in his laughter. "Still naive about how expendable human life is, aren't you? Even you have an expiration date, Princess. The world with one less medical ninja doesn't bother me one bit. But since it bothers you greatly, I'd suggest you offer me what I want," Orochimaru finished with a sneer. "And good luck with prying it out of my brain. My older memories are lot more pliable than recent ones. The Yamanaka girl learned that the hard way, I suppose. Has she woken yet?"

"You son of a bitch!" Tsunade walked towards the bars weaving signs. Once done, Orochimaru twitched.

"What the…" He started to scream at the top of his lungs. "What did you do to me?! How?!"

"You seem to have forgotten- not only am I Senju, I am an Uzumaki. Sealing comes naturally to me, especially after I read through the seals left for Naruto by The Fourth. It seems that with very little chakra, I can cause you pain via your literal soul. You're repeatedly being stabbed by micro scalpels right now. Tsunade squatted down to smile manically in Orochimaru's "Who's in control now, you bastard?" Tsunade laughed and walked back to her original spot as Orochimaru's screams intensified.

"What in the hell is going on in there?" Shikamaru looked panicked- he promised Kakashi that he wouldn't let Tsunade kill Orochimaru unless it was unavoidable. Just as he was planning to walk in the room, she walked out with a smile on her face.

"I have to get back to Sakura. He'll need a sound seal for the foreseeable future." Tsuande's face suddenly became full of grief. "I… still can't kill my brother." She looked at Shikamaru with tears in her eyes. "He grievously injured Sakura and I still can't do it. What does that say about me?" Tsunade finished on a whisper.

Shikamaru put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "It means you're human. It means that you are worthy of the mantle of Hokage. If you had killed him without remorse given your history together, I'd be concerned." Tsunade looked down and nodded, then flew off to Sakura's side.

Tsunade checked Sakura's vitals once more, then sat beside her. "Hinata?"

"Lady Tsunade?"

"Check her chakra points, will you?"

"Of course. Byakugan!" Hinata gasped as she walked towards Sakura's side. "They've returned to normal! She needs chakra, though." Hinata relaxed her eyes and looked toward Tsunade with a question in her eyes.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and crossed her legs. "Go get the kid."

Hinata smiled and ran out to find her fiancé.

Tsunade chuckled and looked to Kakashi's back as he stared out the window. She sighed and Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "I was harsh on you earlier. I berated you for doing something I would have done in your position. I fully intended to execute Orochimaru after interrogating him." Tsunade unfolded from the chair and walked to stand next to Kakashi and stare out the same window. "I still can't kill that bastard. At one time, he and Jiraiya were all I had. I couldn't forgo the memories of the Orochimaru very few got to meet- even for Sakura's sake. He's all that's left of me." She turned towards Kakashi and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you understand how that feels. I also know that you understand that everyone processes death differently. Orochimaru's parents dying changed everything about him. I can't forsake the boy I grew up with." She finished as she shook her head.

Kakashi nodded and looked toward the floor. "Orochimaru will be eliminated, Tsunade. I won't ask you to do it, but we will be removing his curse marks from the three that have them, and his soul will be sealed away after we get his memories. Ino had a breakthrough an hour ago. Naruto has been looking through the scrolls Minato and Kushina left him. He has found an alternative to the Reaper Death Seal Minato used to save the village. Minato was halfway to one, but he… ran out of time. With me, Sauske, and and the Hyuga's help, the seal will be completed by the end of the week. Ino is working on a way to bulk archive his memories. He'll be gone within the year." Kakashi looked up and directly into Tsunade's eyes. "This ends now. I won't leave him partially sealed just so Naruto will have to deal with him down the line. It's over."

Tsunade nodded and smiled, turning back towards the chair she had been sitting in. Before she turned, Kakashi saw her life detailed on her face even though he knew she hadn't dropped her reverse seal. Both their heads snapped when they heard Sakura moan in pain. Tsunade rushed to her side and put her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura? Can you hear me? Open your eyes."

Sakura internally sighed as the memories rushed towards her at lightning speed. Why was it always her that ended up flat on her ass. She cracked her eyes open to see a dimly lit Tsunade in her line of sight. "My chakra… why am I so weak?" Sakura tried to sit up and Tsunade pushed her back down with a frown on her face.

"The chakra inhibitor in the poison cut off the access to your seal- it will be restored in 24 to 48 hours. Until then-"

"Sakura! You're awake, Granny Tsunade really did it! Hinata says you need chakra, though?"

"-Naruto will provide you with some." Tsunade finished at the top her lungs while drilling narrowed holes into Naruto's skull. "Naruto! What have I told you about bursting into this hospital? Right, I said don't! Give her what she needs and go."


	14. Chapter 14

Update from Quarantine and Chill- new chapter. Enjoy!

 **-BB**

 **The Shower**

Sakura sighed as her brain cleared of the memory. She broke away from Kakashi and stood, looking at her watch and sighing. "I have to get back. Gotta shower before I meet pig for her bridal shower." Sakura rolled her eyes as she brushed her hands down her shorts.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Sakura. "Bridal shower? How very western of her."

Sakura chuckled as she extended her hand to Kakashi and helped him up. "This is Ino we're talking about. She's having a Christian wedding- well, as much as her mother will allow. Big gown and all. I'm even a bridesmaid- ugly pink dress and all." Sakura cringed as she thought of the unflattering dresses Ino had chosen for them.

Kakashi laughed outright at her face. "That bad, huh? Now I can't wait to go to this wedding." Kakashi laughed even harder when Sakura slapped his arm in retaliation. He kissed her cheek and said "See you later tonight? I have to get back to the office."

Sakura nodded and Kakashi saluted her and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Sakura!"

She turned at hearing Tenten's voice calling her name.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! Come on." Tenten grabbed Sakura's hand and started dragging her in the direction of Ino's house.

"Tenten, I have to go home and shower."

Tenten shook her head dismissively. "You can shower at Ino's, everything is already there."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion as she let her friend drag her from the training grounds.

Tenten just grinned at her.

Sakura scowled. "Kakashi let you in, didn't he?"

"Yup! I ran into him leaving Hokage Tower earlier today. He said he was meeting you to work off excess energy before meeting with us for wedding stuff so you don't end up strangling Ino- thank you for that, by the way. Sent a clone to let me in. Wonderful, that boyfriends of yours."

Sakura snorted. "You can say that because you don't have to live with him or deal with him everyday of your life."

Tenten laughed, then smiled sadly. "Well… it's better than the alternative."

Sakura kicked herself mentally. "Tenten, I'm sorry, that was so insensitive of me."

Tenten waved off Sakura's apology. "You didn't mean anything by what you said. Besides, Kakashi is _definitely_ an acquired taste. All the guys from his cohort are. Genma is driving me crazy."

Sakura thought about that for a moment, then stopped walking. "Tenten… why would Genma be driving you crazy?" Tenten looked down, then back at Sakura. "He asked me out a year ago. I burst out in tears. He apologized, then asked if we could be friends. I agreed, mainly because I was too humiliated to do otherwise. I talked to Hinata's Dad over tea about six months ago. Hinata and I had gone shopping, and I saw the date as we walked through the village. It was Neji's birthday… it hadn't even crossed my mind. I lost it. In the middle of the village. Tsunade ended up having to sedate me for the rest of the day, I was so hysterical."

Sakura's eyes bulged out of her head. "Tsunade never mentioned that to me."

Tenten shook her head and said "I begged everybody not to say anything to you. The only people who know about it are Hinata, Tsunade, Naruto, and Hiashi."

Sakura's head snapped back. " _Naruto_?"

Tenten looked up at Sakura from below her lashes. "He was meeting us to take us to dinner. He carried me to the hospital." Tenten ran her hand through her loose (Ino had banned her trademark buns for all wedding related events), curly hair. "I barely ate or slept after that episode. Tsunade forced me to see a therapist and made Kakashi put me on medical leave with no questions asked. It didn't help. Apparently Hinata went to compound to talk to Hiashi about it- she didn't know what to do." Tenten shrugged and looked back down. "Hiashi sent someone for me. He brought me to his office and told me to snap out of it. He said that Neji would kick my ass for neglecting myself. He wouldn't want me to just exist. He'd want me to live- something he didn't get to do. I snapped out of it immediately. Neji would have literally kicked my ass." Tenten sighed then looked toward Hokage Mountain. "After everything we've sacrificed, I couldn't disservice Neji's memory, so I'm living. But Genma and I are taking it _very_ slow. Like, at a glacial pace. He is my date to the wedding, though."

Sakura dragged her friend into a long hug. "Neji would have kicked your ass." They both laughed and walked the rest of the way to the Yamanaka Compound.

" _Oh my God, what took you two so long?_ Forehead- go shower. Tenten- get dressed. We have to be at the tea house in two and a half hours." Ino demanded in the shortest robe known to man and a face full of perfectly applied makeup.

"Aye aye, Captian!" Tenten saluted Ino, then walked back to the dressing room.

Sakura looked after Tenten, then back to Ino. "You look decent so far, Pig. Where's your dress?" Ino fluffed her freshly cut bangs. "In the dressing room. You can see it after you shower. Use my bathroom," Ino called over her shoulder as she walked into the dressing room to help Tenten with her makeup.

Sakura rolled her eyes and headed up to get it over with. She ran into Ino's mom and hugged her before locking herself in the bathroom and taking the quickest shower she'd ever taken. Even for ninja standards, it was lightning fast. She knew she needed the most time for hair and makeup. Ino's mother was going to put her hair in an intricate braid of some sort while she did her makeup.

The girls all made it to the tea house with ten minutes to spare. Ino glowed as those in the village saw her bridal shower glam. She stopped to show the tea house owner her ring, custom designed by Sai, of course. Sakura laughed as she thought about the way Ino had demanded a custom designed ring from her favorite artist. The bridal shower went off without a hitch and the girls ran into the guys afterwards. They all decided to head to one of the new swanky bars in the heart of Konoha. Sakura was ready to undo the braid in her hair and was about to start when Kakashi appeared at her side while they walked to the bar.

Kakashi did a double take of her, then looked her from head to toe. He smirked then said, "How in the hell did Ino get you to dress like that?"

Sakura glared at him then winced as her feet began to ache from the walk in four-inch heels. She pushed chakra to them as she proceeded to tell Kakashi where he could go as she took her hair out of the braid that was giving her the beginnings of a headache. Tsunade cleared her throat as Sakura finished telling off Kakashi. Sakura froze, then looked behind her. She laughed nervously and greeted her mentor.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow then said, "I'm sorry, have I ever given you the impression that you should speak to the Hokage like that in front of mixed company?"

"He started it, Tsunade!"

"I'm sure he did, but he is the leader of this village, for better or worse. Save the tirade for another time, girl."

"Yes ma'am," Sakura said solemnly.

Kakashi was doing his best to keep the smile of his face when Tsunade suddenly turned in his direction. "Smile or smirk, and I'll rip _you_ a new one instead."

Kakashi's face suddenly had no problem staying in a neutral position.


End file.
